U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,229, and references cited therein, provides an excellent overview and background for the present invention. As described therein, coloring eggs has been an Eastern custom among many religious and national groups. In the United States, the art of decorating Easter eggs is a well-known annual activity which is employed by many people. Tie-dyeing, which is often used for color decoration, is a coloring process which can impart an intricate, aesthetic design to a given article. The publication "Taking a Dip-Tie Dyed Easter Egg Design Embellish Run-of-the-Mill Shell, The Arizona Republic, Apr. 5, 1997, by Susan Doerflet, specifically describes a method of tie-dyeing eggs by inserting the egg into a nylon stocking and immersing the egg/stocking in a bowl of die.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,229 goes on to disclose that while tie-dyeing of an egg was therefore known, such techniques did not allow for preparation of a detailed colored pattern to selected locations on the egg's surface. That being the case, U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,229 discloses a press and method for using the press to tie-dye eggs which press is said to comprise a planar material having a surface; a center fold line essentially dividing said planar material into two parts, each part having in the surface said planar material a depression such that when the planar material is folded along said centerfold line, the two depressions align to define a closed mold that is substantially egg-shaped, each depression having at least one predetermined locus for puncturing.
However, while methods and techniques such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,229 and the references cited therein are widely known for dyeing of eggs, one long-standing problem remains which is the fact that the eggs themselves, as a perishable commodity, ultimately fail to provide one with a permanently decorated keepsake. That being the case, on Easter, e.g., when a young child colors and decorates a perishable egg, the design placed thereon will ultimately be lost forever. Accordingly, it remains a significant problem in the art to the extent that memorabilia of one's childhood decorating activity has remained in long-stand need of a technique or process to forever preserve such precious memories.
In the field of plastic materials, it is known that plastic themselves can be pigmented through-out prior to molding into a final shape, and such pigments, done at the molding step, certainly provides a permanent effect therein. However, plastic materials, in view of their relatively smooth surfaces, often times resist surface treatment with dyes and/or paints, which has therefore restricted their use as a substrate for consumer applied decoration.
Nevertheless, plastic surfaces which otherwise resist decoration provide their own unique advantages, such as offering surfaces with reduced frictional characteristics, and surfaces which avoid sticking to cooked foods. In the latter case, poly(tetrafluroethylene) is an excellent example of a plastic polymeric material that is uniquely suited for application as a non-stick surface as applied to the manufacture of consumer cookware. In connection with an example of a plastic material with reduced frictional characteristics, it has been well-known, e.g., to employ a smoothed polyethylene based plastic surface for linings of truck beds and the like.
One form of plastic materials, known as the nylon resins, stands as reference to that family of polymers known generally as polyamides. Aliphatic polyamides, such as nylon-6,6 were largely developed by the pioneering work of Wallace H. Carothers at the DuPont Co., were promptly recognized as a synthetic fiber-forming material, as well as a plastic material with improved mechanical strength and/or heat resistance, suitable for molding of high-performance consumer products. In addition, while such applications certainly make use of nylon's beneficial properties, over the years, it has become known that nylons or polyamides have a unique characteristic of being "hydrophilic", which is reference to the fact that the polyamide chain itself can and will absorb water. Absorption of water, can, and will have certain negative effects in certain given applications. For example, water will tend to soften a nylon material, and render a drop in mechanical strength.
However, not surprisingly there have been numerous reports in the art dealing with control of water uptake, ranging from modification of the nylon structure itself blending, and/or the use of selected additives. Each of these solutions, so to speak, is accompanied with its own unique problems. For example, modifying the structure to reduce moisture absorption may also lead to changes in mechanical performance.
That being the case, it is a primary object of this invention to develop a process and apparatus/kit that would provide consumers the opportunity to color a plastic material, such as an egg shaped molded plastic form, such that the decoration thereon is preserved. More specifically, it is an object of this invention to select and condition the plastic material so that its ability to absorb colors is fully enhanced and one can obtain a preserved and intensely colored keepsake of one's decorating activity. In that regard, it is a more specific objective of the present invention to selectively condition a nylon, with consideration of its unique hydrophilic properties as noted above, such that the nylon/polyamide is made to more efficiently absorb a child friendly aqueous based dye, along with the development of an efficient technique for more vivid decorative color and patterns of colors than previously reported in the literature.